You didn't see any large celebration after Sadam's government was toppled. It's also a fact, the video of Sadam's statue being pulled
down kicked and spat on was staged for the media.

Actually, there were celebrations in the early days. I not only recall it from live TV, covering the events...but I've heard it first hand from men
who were there and watching it personally. It didn't last, as it never does. The West does manage to wear out it's welcome and that happened in flat
record time in Iraq. However, to deny the celebrations happened is simply dishonest or unaware of the events as seen at the time. \

I'm curious for more information on how the statue was staged? I recall the investigation run on that because Bush and others were horrified at the
symbolism of the US flag in the face of such P.C. priorities that it seemed to matter more than securing the Baghdad Museums or other locations of
true treasure being looted at that very moment.

And remember the videos of the first elections where people with the purple ink on their thumb were openly weeping because of their ability to finally
vote.

Of course the euphoria has worn off and reality has sunk in but there's no doubt that many of their population were glad to see Saddam go. Of course
you cannot erase all of the hurt brought on by the unnecessary lives lost, especially the children.

Their claims should have at least been considered since even the CIA and MI6 believed these claims to be true and even went out of their way to point
this out.

It also shows how claims by Iraqis were treated seriously by elements in MI6 and the CIA even after they were exposed as fabricated including
claims, notably about alleged mobile biological warfare containers, made by Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, a German source codenamed Curveball. He
admitted to the Guardian in 2011 that all the information he gave to the west was fabricated.

Panorama says it asked for an interview with Blair but he said he was "too busy".

I have a question for you...why should they have believed Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, AKA curveball, especially since he has even admitted that his
testimony was a hoax and the "intelligence" he provided was a lie.

Where do you think Saddam got the chemical weapons. Don't you think our intel knew exactly what he was going to use them for? We were supporting
Saddam at this time and could have stopped the Kurd massacre but chose not to.

I think it's you that doesn't know how international alliances and politics works but chose the official story over the truth. Epic
fail!!!

The WMD fiasco started with the Clinton administration and Democrats were pushing it before Bush took office. Sure, Democrats got amnesia after the
fact but it was THEIR agenda. Had a Democrat won POTUS there would have been an invasion of Iraq regardless.

Democrat Quotes on Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is
our bottom line."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction program."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
--Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
--Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if
appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass
destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by:
-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has
made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs
continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of
a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by:
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of
the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
-- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in
power."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

I remember Halliburton seemingly getting a Military escort into Iraq!!

Here's a question, do you recall the catalyst that lead to the "West" going to war against Iraq?

Oh, that's right - Colin Powell at the UN showing us (The world) unequivocal evidence that Saddam had WMD's stashed in mobile vehicles and was about
to unleash........evidence provided by the intelligence community - apparently!!!

If you believe these "secret channels" linked directly to Saddam then you should also believe Saddam's second in command of the Air Force who revealed
in 2006 that these WMD's were sent to Syria.

In 2006, former Iraqi general Georges Sada, second in command of the Iraqi Air Force who served under Saddam Hussein before he defected, wrote a
comprehensive book, “Saddam’s Secrets.”

It details how the Iraqi Revolutionary Guard moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria in advance of the U.S.-led action to eliminate Hussein’s
WMD threat.

As Sada told the New York Sun, two Iraqi Airways Boeings were converted to cargo planes by removing the seats, and special Republican Guard units
loaded the planes with chemical weapons materials.

There were 56 flights disguised as a relief effort after a 2002 Syrian dam collapse.

There were also truck convoys into Syria. Sada’s comments came more than a month after Israel’s top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Moshe
Yaalon, told the Sun that Saddam “transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria.”

I guess it just depends on which Iraqi "Insider" you want to believe. I guess we need to get our hands on Assad's weapons to establish their true
origin. I'll bet that someone will eventually find a Saddam ownership stamp somewhere on those WMD's.

So I guess, if the general's statement is correct than the OP assertion is also correct. There were no active WMD prior to the invasion because they
were moved out of the country prior to putting US boots on the ground...

rom among the most outspoken of critics of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, China has emerged as one of the biggest
economic beneficiaries of the war, snagging five lucrative deals. While Western firms were largely subdued in their interest in Iraq's recent oil
auctions, China snapped up three contracts, shrugging off the security risks and the country's political instability for the promise of oil.

I certainly remember Powell's "presentation" at the UN which tricked the world into giving into the Iraq lie, I am not trying to defend him as he was
definitely complicit in this fiasco but I do recall him showing remorse in an interview after the fact. Whether or not his remorse was genuine or not
I will never know but he sure did pull a sneaky one on the world that day at the UN...his "presentation" was the final nail in the coffin to get the
go ahead for the invasion of Iraq.

In my opinion, remorseful or not, there is no excuse for lying to the world with unproven claims especially when these claims lead to the death of
thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people. And let's not forget how much these wars cost the citizens of the nations who participated. It made
us broke, but made the elite more wealthy at the same time which pisses me off even more.

Please point out where the words "evil Amerika" were used...looks like we might be waiting a while.

As for the off topic content you contributed...

"BLAME CHINA!"

That was rich man, really, no joke

Wasn't China against the war?

That being said, I have no doubt China, among many other nations would try to take advantage of the lucrative oil trade in Iraq once NATO rolled in
and turned the place into a giant waste land covered in depleted uranium.

Are you going to blame China for that too?

ETA:

Honest question...who do you think made more money off the rebuilding and plundering of Iraq?

A little more regarding how the Iraqis moved their WMD as indicated by an Iraqi Air Force General.

BAGHDAD, June 9 (AFP) - Iraq said Sunday it has sent 20 planeloads of humanitarian assistance to Syria to help victims of Tuesday's Zeyzoun dam
collapse in the north of the neighbouring country.
"Iraqi Airways planes have made 20 flights to Damascus until today to take foodstuffs and pharmaceutical products to the victims," Transport
Minister Ahmad Murtada Ahmad told the official INA news agency.

Planes continued to take off from Baghdad's international airport on Sunday in the airlift put in place on Thursday at the request of President
Saddam Hussein, Ahmad said.

Iraq's Health Minister Omid Medhat Mubarak added that the sanctions-hit country would also send teams of specialised doctors, surgeons and chemists
to Syria.

Iraq and Syria, governed by rival wings of the Baath party, froze diplomatic relations in 1980 over Syrian support for Iran in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq
war, but have been forging closer ties since 1997.

Please point out where the words "evil Amerika" were used...looks like we might be waiting a while

Any criticism of the United States is intolerable to Neo96 and many others who view themselves and their country as one and the same and view any
criticism as a personal attack on themselves.

We're not discussing China and although they may have profited from it, they didn't take part in the invasion. You're telling me the United States
hasn't profited or has never profited from a war before or that they'd just sit on the sidelines if it was China launching an invasion?

There were attempts in another thread to claim that the discovery of a couple of rusty old mustard shells in Iraq somehow justified the entire
wrecking of a country and the deaths of thousands of people. It goes to show the desperate lengths that people will go to in an attempt to justify the
invasion.

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